Point-of-use water treatment system

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a point-of-use water treatment system (WTS) unit ( 20 ) for filtering and treating contaminants in water. WTS unit ( 20 ) may include a first primary coil ( 74 ) located in a base unit ( 22 ) which inductively power a secondary treatment device such as a UV lamp assembly ( 24 ). A filter assembly ( 26 ) is used which has a filter block ( 90 ) and an inner sleeve ( 92 ) which extends inside filter block ( 90 ). Inner sleeve ( 92 ) defines a chamber in which the secondary treatment device ( 24 ) may be disposed. First and second valves and seals may be interposed between the filter assembly ( 26 ), secondary treatment device ( 24 ) and base unit ( 22 ) to allow the filter assembly ( 26 ) and secondary treatment device ( 24 ) to be independently replaceable. Secondary treatment device ( 24 ) may be a lamp assembly ( 24 ) which includes a condensing element ( 84 ) to condense mercury in a bulb in the arc path between filaments ( 444 ). Maintaining the condensed mercury between filaments ( 444 ) serves to reduce the time needed for lamp assembly ( 24 ) to produce light emissions of a predetermined intensity upon subsequent energization as compared to allowing the mercury to condense outside the arc path. A reflector assembly ( 402 ) may be used in lamp assembly ( 24 ) to focus radiation upon conduits ( 80 ) carrying water therethrough and away from returning to a bulb assembly ( 82 ) from which the radiation was originally emitted. An outer enclosure or housing ( 400 ) surrounds the bulb and reflector assemblies ( 82, 402 ) such that lamp assembly ( 24 ) becomes a generally closed pressure vessel. Also, a light pipe ( 250 ) impregnated with a florescent dye may be used to convert UV light into visible light for ease of monitoring the light output intensity of lamp assembly ( 24 ). Light pipe ( 250 ) also serves as a filter to primarily emit light of a particular wavelength (green) while significantly inhibiting light transmission through light pipe ( 250 ) of other wavelengths.

[0001] The present invention claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) toprovisional application serial no. 60/140,090, filed Jun. 21, 1999,titled “Point-Of-Use Water Treatment System”, and provisionalapplication serial no. 60/140,159, filed Jun. 21, 1999, titled “WaterTreatment System With An Inductively Coupled Ballast”, the entirety ofeach of which is incorporated herein by reference. Also, incorporated byreference is the disclosure contained in a patent application beingfiled on the same day as this application entitled “Fluid TreatmentSystems”.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates to point-of-use water treatmentsystem (WTS) units used in homes and offices to filter and treatcontaminants in water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention minimizes or overcomes several problemsassociated with previous point-of-use home or office water treatmentsystem (WTS) units. A first problem is that conventional WTS units,utilizing lamp assemblies with UV bulb assemblies therein, are energyinefficient. When a conventional lamp assembly is turned on, it takes asignificant amount of start-up time before gases within a UV bulbassembly are sufficiently excited to output light of an intensity levelrequired to insure adequate destruction of microorganisms within the WTSunit. Water which is discharged from the WTS unit before a UV bulbassembly is sufficiently excited and microorganisms properly irradiatedmay carry an unacceptably high level of live microorganisms.Consequently, conventional lamp assemblies are left continuously runningwhich uses a significant amount of energy. Also, with the lamp assemblyleft running continuously, such as overnight, water residing within aWTS unit can become uncomfortably warm. Finally, the life expectancy ofa lamp assembly which is kept running continuously is significantlyreduced relative to a lamp assembly which is only activated when wateris to be treated.

[0004] A second problem is with the design of reflector assemblieswithin WTS units. In an attempt to increase lamp efficiency, reflectorassemblies may be placed about UV bulb assemblies and water carryingconduits in which the microorganisms are irradiated. Light emitted froma UV bulb assembly which misses striking water carrying conduits isreflected back from the reflectors walls and has a chance to againimpinge upon the water carrying conduits. These reflector assemblies maybe circular in cross-section. Unfortunately, a lot of the UV lightproduced by these circular reflector designs never reaches the watercarrying conduits. Rather, a significant portion of reflected light isreabsorbed by the UV bulb assembly and never reaches the water carryingconduit.

[0005] A third problem involves the electrical coupling of the lampassemblies to WTS units. Every time a lamp assembly is installed in orremoved from a WTS unit, the lamp assembly must be mechanically andelectrically coupled and uncoupled relative to the WTS unit. This oftenrequired complicated and expensive electrical mounting assemblies.Further, care must be taken to insure that the electrical connectionsare not exposed to moisture while electrical power is passing throughthe WTS unit.

[0006] Coaxially aligned lamp assemblies and filter assemblies aresometime used to minimize the size of WTS units. A lamp assembly andfilter assembly in a particular WTS may or may not be simultaneouslyremoved from the WTS unit. If these assemblies are simultaneouslyremoved, they are often very quite heavy as they may have substantialweight on their own and may be filled with water. Alternatively, even ifthe lamp and filter assemblies are separably removably from a WTS unit,quite often problems exist of water spilling from one of theseassemblies during handling.

[0007] Another problem faced by WTS units having UV lamp assemblies isthat complicated monitoring systems are needed to monitor the lampassemblies. As a lamp assembly ages, the intensity of UV light outputfrom the lamp assembly generally diminishes. Eventually, the intensityfalls below a level necessary to effect a desired microorganism killrate. The lamp assembly should be replaced before the desired minimumintensity is reached. Accordingly, a monitoring system is required tocheck on the UV light intensity within the WTS unit. These monitoringsystems are typically expensive. They often require costly UV lightsensors with quartz windows.

[0008] Point-of-use water treatment systems are typically left runningcontinuously due to microorganism growth that would otherwise occur ifthe systems were shut down. Lamp assemblies in typical WTS units requirea relative long time to reach a threshold value of emitted radiationintensity needed to attain a desired kill rate. Accordingly, watercontaining unacceptably high levels of live microorganisms may bedelivered from a WTS unit before that threshold value of light intensityis reached.

[0009] Other problems and deficiencies that typical WTS units haveinclude complicated assembly and locking mechanisms for mounting filterand lamp assemblies which may include nuts, bolts and O-rings which mustbe manually installed.

[0010] These and other deficiencies in prior WTS units employing lampassemblies and filter assemblies are overcome by the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention includes a point-of-use water treatmentsystem which has a base unit, a filter assembly with an inner sleeve anda secondary water treatment device such as a UV lamp assembly. The innersleeve provides a chamber for the secondary water treatment device.Ideally first and second valves and seals provide control of the flow ofwater between the filter assembly and the secondary water treatmentdevice and between the secondary water treatment device and the baseunit. The valves and seals prevent unwanted water spillage when thefilter assembly and lamp assembly are removed and replaced from the baseunit.

[0012] The present invention also includes a lamp assembly, preferablyfor use in a water treatment system that includes a bulb assembly, areflector assembly and a conduit carrying water through the lampassembly. The reflector assembly is configured or shaped to reflect andfocus light emitted from the bulb assembly onto the conduit and awayfrom returning to the bulb assembly thereby enhancing the efficiency ofthe lamp assembly.

[0013] The present invention further includes a replaceable lampassembly, which includes a water-carrying conduit captured between apair of ends caps and a bulb assembly for irradiating the conduit. Theconduit serves as a reactor vessel in which microorganism and othercontaminants may be treated. Enclosures may be used which cooperate withthe end caps to form a generally closed vessel surrounding the UV bulbassembly and conduit. The lamp assembly may also include two or moreconduits extending between the end caps. The lamp assembly is generallyself-contained and can be readily installed in a test fixture or in thewater treatment system.

[0014] Another aspect of the present invention is the use of condensingelement to cool an intermediate portion of a bulb assembly between itsfilaments. The intermediate portion, which is cooled, allows acondensable material, such as mercury, to condense onto the intermediateportion of the bulb between filaments. When the lamp assembly isenergized, the condensed mercury can quickly be revaporized as it liesin the arc path between the filaments. Otherwise, when the condensedmercury is located outside the arc path, the condensed mercury requiresa greater time to become fully vaporized when the lamp assembly isreenergized. This condensing of the mercury in the arc path assists thelamp assembly in reaching a threshold intensity level in a shorterperiod of time. A condensing element extending between the bulb and aconduit carrying cool water can serve as a heat sink to cool theintermediate portion of the bulb in contact with the condensing element.If the condensing element is elastomeric, the condensing can also servea cushioning functioning.

[0015] Yet another feature of the present invention is the use of aplastic light pipe impregnated with a florescent dye to convert UV lightinto visible light. This conversion allows the relative intensity of theUV light produced by a lamp assembly to be easily measured by aninexpensive visible light detector. The light pipe may include polishedand angled surfaces to receive incident UV light and cause the lightpipe to emit visible light at a particular emitting surface wherein thevisible light may be measured for intensity. Preferably, the florescentdye is in the green wavelength of color.

[0016] An additional feature is the use of an inductively coupled baseunit and lamp assembly to provide UV radiation necessary to killmicroorganism passing through a water treatment system. Also, radiofrequency identification (RFID) and communication between smart chips onthe base unit, filter assembly and lamp assembly can provide informationregarding operation of the water treatment system such as filter andlamp life and usage, identification of a particular filter assembly orlamp assembly, and other desired information. The use of inductivecoupling and RFID allows the filter assembly and lamp assembly tooperate without any hard wiring to a base unit. The base unit willinclude microprocessors to control the operation of the water treatmentsystem.

[0017] It is an object of the present invention to provide a WTS unitwhich requires no direct physical electrical connection between aremovable lamp assembly and a base unit which powers the lamp assembly.

[0018] It is another object to provide a WTS unit having a base unitwith a primary coil and a lamp assembly with a secondary coil, theprimary coil supplying energy to the secondary coil to power the lampassembly such that a high intensity UV light is produced within the WTSunit.

[0019] A further object is to provide a reflector assembly in a WTS unitwherein the UV light produced by a UV bulb assembly is reflected andfocused upon one or more conduits carrying water to be treated whileminimizing reflected light striking and being absorbed by the UV bulbassembly.

[0020] It is an additional object to provide a WTS unit wherein a filterassembly cooperatively mounts to a base unit and to a lamp assembly toallow water to pass through the filter assembly and wherein when thefilter assembly is removed from the base unit and lamp assembly, thefilter assembly is self-sealing preventing water from spilling from thefilter assembly.

[0021] Yet another object is to provide a WTS unit having a ballast andlamp assembly wherein a UV bulb assembly, upon start up, can virtuallyinstantaneously produce UV light of sufficiently high intensity suchthat the lamp assembly can be run intermittently while maintainingdesired microorganism kill rates.

[0022] Still yet another object is to provide a WTS unit which runsintermittently and has a UV bulb assembly with a pair of spaced apartfilaments and a heat sink in contact with the UV bulb assembly such thata cool spot on the UV bulb assembly is formed between the filamentswherein at least one of the ionized gases will condense adjacent thecool spot between the filaments when the UV bulb assembly isdeenergenized. This allows the condensed gas to be quickly reionizedwhen the UV bulb assembly is reenergized.

[0023] Still yet another object is to provide a light pipe whichreceives UV light, fluoresces and outputs visible light generallylinearly proportional in intensity to the incoming UV light.

[0024] An additional object is to provide smart chips in one or more offilter and lamp assemblies which transponds with an electrical assemblyon a base unit to record usage information from the filter and lampassemblies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] These and other features, objects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become readily apparent from the following description,pending claims, and accompanying sheets of drawings where:

[0026]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a WTS unit, made in accordancewith the present invention;

[0027]FIG. 2 is a left side elevational view of the WTS unit;

[0028]FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the WTS unit;

[0029]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a base unit of the WTS unit withits top shroud removed and a filter assembly and a lamp assembly removedfrom the base unit;

[0030]FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of major components of theWTS unit;

[0031] FIGS. 6A-E are an exploded view, an elevational view, a sectionalview take along line 6C-6C of FIG. 6B, an enlarged fragmentary viewtaken from encircled area designated 6D in FIG. 6C, and an enlargedfragmentary view taken from encircled area designated 6E in FIG. 6C ofthe filter assembly;

[0032] FIGS. 7A-F are a top perspective view, a bottom perspective view,a front elevational view, a sectional view taken along line 7D-7D ofFIG. 7C, a top plan view and a bottom plan view of a base and innersleeve;

[0033] FIGS. 8A-C are an exploded perspective view, an elevational view,and a top plan view of a lamp assembly;

[0034] FIGS. 9A-C are an exploded perspective view, a top plan view anda sectional view taken along line 9C-9C of FIG. 9B of a base assembly ofthe lamp assembly;

[0035] FIGS.10A-E are an exploded perspective view, an elevational view,a bottom plan view, a side elevational view and a top plan view of abase subassembly of the lamp assembly;

[0036] FIGS. 11A-C are a perspective view, a top plan view and a bottomplan view of a base support of the base subassembly;

[0037] FIGS. 12A-C are a perspective view, a top plan view and a bottomplan view of a bottom shield of the base subassembly;

[0038] FIGS. 13 A-C are a perspective view of a secondary coil, a topplan view of a spool and a sectional view of the spool taken along line13C-13C of FIG. 13B;

[0039]FIG. 14 is a perspective view of smart chip;

[0040] FIGS. 15A-B are a rear perspective view and a rear elevationalview of a light pipe;

[0041]FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of a top support assembly;

[0042]FIG. 17 is a bottom perspective view of a top cap;

[0043]FIG. 18 is a top perspective view of a top shield;

[0044]FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of a lamp assembly;

[0045] FIGS. 20A-B are inside and side elevational views of anenclosure;

[0046] FIGS. 21A-B are perspective and top end views of a reflector;

[0047]FIG. 22 is a sectional view through a lamp assembly showingexemplary reflected UV light rays;

[0048] FIGS. 23A-D are an elevational view, and schematic upright,inverted and upright with heat sink views of a UV bulb assembly;

[0049]FIG. 24 is a graph of relative light intensity produced by the UVbulb assemblies of FIGS. 23B-D;

[0050] FIGS. 25A-F are enlarged front perspective, top, rear, front,bottom and side views of a light pipe;

[0051] FIGS. 26A-C are a top plan view, a bottom plan view and anexploded perspective view of a bottom shroud assembly;

[0052] FIGS. 27A-F are a rear perspective view, a front elevationalview, a rear elevational view, a top plan view, a side elevational viewand a bottom plan view of an electronics assembly;

[0053] FIGS. 28A-D are a bottom perspective view, a top plan view, asectional view taken along line 28C-28C of FIG. 28B and a sectional viewtaken along line 28D-28D of FIG. 28B of an outlet cup assembly;

[0054] FIGS. 29A-C are an exploded view, an elevational view and asectional view taken along line 29C-29C of FIG. 29B of an inlet valveassembly;

[0055] FIGS. 30A-C are an exploded perspective view, a top plan view anda bottom plan view of an inner sleeve assembly;

[0056] FIGS. 31A-D are a perspective view, a bottom plan view, a frontelevational view and a sectional view taken along line 31D-31D of FIG.31B of an inner sleeve and outlet cup assembly;

[0057] FIGS. 32A-C are an exploded perspective view, a top plan view anda front elevational view of a front shroud and lens assembly;

[0058] FIGS. 33A-C are a rear perspective view, a rear elevational view,and a top plan view of the front shroud;

[0059] FIGS. 34 A-E are a front perspective view, a rear perspectiveview, a top plan view, a rear elevational view and a side elevationalview of a back shroud;

[0060] FIGS. 35A-B are a front perspective view and top plan view of atop shroud assembly;

[0061] FIGS. 36A-D are a front perspective view, a front elevationalview, a sectional view taken along line 36C-36C of FIG. 36B, and a topplan view of the top shroud;

[0062]FIG. 37 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 37-37 ofFIG. 3 of the WTS unit;

[0063]FIG. 38 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 38-38 ofFIG. 2;

[0064]FIG. 39 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 39-39 ofFIG. 40;

[0065]FIG. 40 is a sectional view taken along line 40-40 of FIG. 39;

[0066]FIG. 41 is a sectional view taken along line 41-41 of FIG. 39;

[0067]FIG. 42 is a sectional view taken along line 42-42 of FIG. 39; and

[0068]FIG. 43 is a sectional view taken along line 43-43 of FIG. 39.

BEST MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0069] An exemplary water treatment system (WTS) unit 20, made inaccordance with the present invention, is shown in perspective view inFIG. 1. FIGS. 2 and 3 show respective left side and rear views of WTSunit 20. FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of major subcomponents ofWTS unit 20 including a base unit 22, a lamp assembly 24 and a filterassembly 26. Lamp assembly 24 and filter assembly 26 are individuallyremovable and replaceable from base unit 22. Filter assembly 26 is firstremoved from base unit 22 and then lamp assembly 24 can be dismountedfrom base unit 22. Similarly, lamp assembly 24 is first mounted to baseunit 22. Then, filter assembly 26 is coaxially placed over lamp assembly24 and bayonet mounted to base unit 22 when WTS unit 20 is beingreassembled.

[0070] Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, the exterior of WTS unit 20 is formedby a bottom shroud 32, a back shroud 34, a front shroud 36 and a topshroud 40. A lens 42 is mounted in an opening in front shroud 36. Lens42 accommodates the visual display of operating parameters of WTS unit20. FIG. 2 shows a left side elevational view and FIG. 3 shows a rearelevational view of WTS unit 20. A power plug assembly 44 for receivingpower is located in the rear of back shroud 34. FIG. 4 demonstrates thattop shroud 40 is first removed before filter assembly 26 and then lampassembly 24 are removed from the rest of base unit 22.

[0071] Turning now to FIG. 5, major components of WTS unit 20 are shownin perspective view. Base unit 22 includes an inner sleeve 50 with threeinner sleeve covers 52, an inlet valve assembly 54, an outlet cupassembly 56 with outlet cup 58, a bottom shroud assembly 60 includingbottom shroud 32 along with inlet and outlet elbow assemblies 62 and 64,and an electronics assembly 66. These components are enclosed withinbottom shroud 32, front shroud 36 and lens 42, back shroud 34 and topshroud 40. Also shown are a magnet holder 68 and a magnet 70 whichattach to top shroud 40. If top shroud 40 and magnet 70 are not properlypositioned atop the remainder of WTS unit 20, the magnetic field ofmagnet 70 is not sensed by a sensor on electronics assembly 66 and WTSunit 20 cannot be energized.

[0072] Lamp assembly 24 includes base subassembly 72, secondary coil 74,bottom support subassembly 76, top support assembly 78, a pair of quartzsleeves 80, a UV bulb assembly 82 and a pair of cooperating enclosureand reflector subassemblies 86. Filter assembly 26 comprises a filterblock assembly 88, including a filter block 90, a base and inner sleeve92, a thread ring 94, a filter housing 96, and an elastomeric filterhousing grip 98.

[0073] The aforementioned components will now be described individuallyin greater detail. Then, the assembly and mating of the variouscomponents will be described utilizing a variety of sectional viewsthrough WTS unit 20.

A. Filter Assembly

[0074] Referring to FIGS. 6A-E, filter assembly 26 includes filter blockassembly 88, domed and cylindrical shaped outer filter housing 96, aninlet check ball 100, an outlet check ball 102, base and inner sleeve92, filter thread ring 94, a block gasket 104 and filter housing grip98. Filter housing grip 98 is elastomeric and is made of rubber in thisexemplary embodiment. Filter housing grip 98 is stretched over and isfrictionally mounted upon the upper domed end of outer filter housing96. Filter block assembly 88 has annular carbon block 90 capturedbetween a bottom filter end cap 106 and a top filter end cap 108. Filterblock assembly 88 also has a carbon blanket 110 which surrounds theouter periphery of carbon block 90. Carbon blanket 110 is comprised of anylon mesh which serves to filter or capture any large particlesattempting to pass radially inwardly through carbon block 90. A smartchip 112 is held in the base of base and inner sleeve 92. Smart chip 112is used to record parameters related to filter usage. A sensor onelectronics assembly 66 inductively powers and communicates with smartchip 112 to obtain details on filter usage.

[0075] Looking to FIGS. 6C-D, filter block assembly 88 is disposedwithin filter housing 96 and rests upon block gasket 104 and the lowerportion of base and inner sleeve 92. Block gasket 104 is retained in agroove in base and inner sleeve 92. Carbon block assembly 88 is threadedon to filter thread ring 94. In turn, filter thread ring 94 ispermanently affixed, through a welding procedure, to base and innersleeve 92. At its open end, outer filter housing 96 is welded to theouter periphery of base and inner sleeve 92. Inlet check ball 100 isslidably retained near the base of base and inner sleeve 92 while outletcheck ball 102 is slidably retained atop base and inner sleeve 92 andbeneath top end cap 108 of filter block assembly 88.

[0076] Looking to FIG. 6D, bottom filter end cap 106 has an annular hubportion 114 supporting a horizontally extending annular tray portion116. Internal threads 120 are formed on the radially interior surface ofhub portion 114. Tray portion 116 has a series of four concentricgrooves 122 formed therein and also has inner and outer flanges 124 and126. The bottom portion of carbon block 90 is supported upon trayportion 116 and is captured between inner and outer flanges 124 and 126.Referring now to FIG. 6E, top filter end cap 108 includes an annulartray portion 130 having inner and outer flanges 132 and 134, an annularcap portion 136 and a downwardly opening ball retaining cup portion 140.Although not clearly shown, tray portion 130 also includes fourconcentric grooves which are disposed opposing carbon block 90. Upperend cap 108 is configured to slidably capture outlet check ball 102 atopthe upper portion of inner sleeve 92.

[0077] Filter housing 96 includes a closed domed end portion 142 and acylindrical portion 144. At the open end of cylindrical portion 144 is areduced thickness end portion 146 which is designed to be permanentlyattached to base and inner sleeve 92, as shown in FIGS. 6C-D. EMA tape148 is located in a gap formed between end portion 146 and the outerperiphery of base and inner sleeve 92 to facilitate welding.

[0078] Base and inner sleeve 92 is shown individually in FIGS. 7A-F.Base and inner sleeve 92 includes a base portion 150, an intermediatecylindrical portion 152, and a top portion 154. Top portion 154 includesa disk like end cap 156 with an outlet opening 160 extendingtherethrough. Three circumferentially spaced arcuate projections 162surround outlet opening 160 and serve to surround and position outletcheck ball 102. Around the periphery of outlet opening 160 is a ballseat 164. The upper end of cylindrical portion 152 includes a steppedportion 166 which is configured to engage with a corresponding portionof lamp assembly 24 (not shown).

[0079] As best seen in FIG. 6D, base portion 150 includes a gasketgroove 170 for receiving block gasket 104, an inlet opening 172surrounded by a ball seat 174 and three cooperating andcircumferentially spaced apart projections 176 which guide inlet checkball 100. Returning to FIGS. 7A-D, three circumferentially spaced apartramped scallops 178 and L-shaped retaining tangs 180 are formed on thebottom of base portion 150 to allow filter assembly 26 to be bayonetmounted to inner sleeve 50. Ramped scallops 178 assist in lifting filterassembly 26 away from base unit 22 when filter assembly 26 isdisconnected from base unit 22. A rectangular-shaped smart chip retainerchamber 184 having an opening 186 therein is also formed on the bottomof base portion 150. Opening 186 is sized to hold smart chip 112 in aninterference or press fit. Smart chip 112 serves the purpose ofrecording and transmitting information to electronics assembly 66.

[0080] Filter thread ring 94 includes exterior threads 192. The interiorradial periphery of filter thread ring 94 is sized to mate with theouter diameter of cylindrical portion 152 of base and inner sleeve 92.Filter thread ring 94 is sonically welded to cylindrical portion 152 ofbase and inner sleeve 92 adjacent base portion 150, as shown in FIG. 6Cand D.

[0081] Filter assembly 26 is assembled as follows. Filter thread ring 94is placed over cylindrical portion 152 of base and inner sleeve 92adjacent base portion 150. Sonic welding is used to permanently attachfilter thread ring 94 to cylindrical portion 152. Inlet check ball 100is set within cooperating projections 176 resting upon ball seat 174.Similarly, outlet check ball 102 is positioned within projections 162upon ball seat 164. Block gasket 104 is positioned within gasket groove170 of base portion 150 of base and inner sleeve 92. Cylindrical portion152 of base and inner sleeve 92 is then slipped within the inner radialperiphery of filter block assembly 88. Outlet check ball 102 is thuscaptured within projections 162 and beneath cup portion 140 of top endcap 108 of filter assembly 26. Filter block assembly 88 is then threadedonto filter thread ring 94 compressively capturing gasket 104 betweenfilter block assembly 88 and base and inner sleeve 92. Filter housing 96is placed over filter block assembly 88 resting upon base portion 150.End portion 146 of filter housing 96 is (EMAWELD) welded to the radialexterior of base portion 150 utilizing EMA tape 148 thus creating aclosed pressure vessel or filter assembly 26. Smart chip 112 is pressedinto retainer chamber 184.

[0082] During operation of WTS unit 20, water travels through filterassembly 26 along the pathway shown by arrows in FIGS. 6C-D. Pressurizedwater is introduced at filter inlet opening 172 lifting inlet check ball100 from its ball seat 174. (Note that water cannot pass backwards fromfilter assembly 26 through filter inlet opening 172 as inlet check ball100 and ball seat 174 form a one-way check valve.) Water fills theannular region formed beneath bottom filter end cap 106 of filter blockassembly 88 and above base portion 150 of base and inner sleeve 92.Next, water passes upwardly to the annular region created between theradial exterior of carbon block 90 and the interior of filter housing96. Water enters the outer diameter of carbon block 90 and is filteredas the water passes to its radial interior periphery. Water is thenreceived in the annular space created between carbon block 90 andcylindrical portion 152 of base and inner sleeve 92. Water must thenpass upwardly over top portion 154 of base and inner sleeve 92 andbeneath cap portion 136. Outlet check ball 102 is seated in ball seat164 and prevents water from exiting filter assembly 26 unless outletcheck ball 102 is displaced upwardly. This occurs only when filterassembly 26 is properly positioned over lamp assembly 24 as will bedescribed later. When filter assembly 26 is removed from base unit 22and lifted from lamp assembly 24, outlet check ball 102 will seat inball seat 164 and water held in filter assembly 26 will remain withinfilter assembly 26.

B. Lamp Assembly

[0083] FIGS. 8A-C show lamp assembly 24. Lamp assembly 24 includes basesubassembly 72, secondary coil 74, bottom support subassembly 76, topsupport assembly 78, a pair of quartz sleeves 80, a UV bulb assembly 82,condensing O-ring 84 and a pair of cooperating enclosure and reflectorsubassemblies 86.

[0084] FIGS. 9A-C illustrate base subassembly 72. Base subassembly 72includes a cup shaped base 200, an outlet O-ring 202, an oval manifoldseal 204 and a check ball 206. Base 200 has a cylindrical wall 210 and abase wall 212. An oval wall 214 extends upwardly from base wall 212 andhas on its outer surface an oval seal step 216. Located within oval wall214 is a bottom wall 220 with a pocket 222 therein for receiving checkball 206. Alignment grooves 224 extend vertically along the inside ofcylindrical wall 210. Located on cylindrical wall 210 is a light pipepocket 226. An outlet opening 228 is formed in a hub 230 disposed belowbase wall 212. A pair of L-shaped bayonet members 232 are formed beneathbase wall 212. Bayonet members 232 serve to releasably retain lampassembly 24 to outlet cup 58 when WTS unit 20 is assembled. A groove 234is formed in the outside of hub 230 to accommodate outlet O-ring 202.Oval manifold seal 204 rests upon oval seal step 216.

[0085] Check ball 206 prevents water from escaping from lamp assembly 24when UV lamp assembly 24 is removed from base unit 22. Oval manifoldseal 204 serves to seal between base subassembly 72 and bottom supportassembly 76, as best seen in FIGS. 37 and 38. Outlet O-ring 202 sealsbetween base subassembly 72 and the inside of outlet cup 58.

[0086] Bottom support assembly 76 is shown in exploded view in FIG. 10Aand assembled in FIGS. 10B-10E. A base support 240 cooperates with abottom shield 242 to capture about a pair of O-rings 244. A thermistor246 attaches to bottom shield 242. A smart chip 250 and a light pipe 252are held within bottom support assembly 76, as will be described in moredetail below. Smart chip 250 electronically communicates with electricalassembly 66. Smart chip 250 measures various operating parameters oflamp assembly 24. Light pipe 252 converts UV light from within lampassembly 24 to visible light which is sensed by a light sensor onelectronics assembly 66. Thermistor 246 operates to sense temperaturewithin lamp assembly 24. Alternatively, separate temperature sensingcircuitry may be used to control the temperature within WTS unit 20. WTSunit 20 will automatically turn on to prevent freezing of water withinWTS unit 20.

[0087] Base support 240 is shown in FIGS. 11A-C. A pair of bottom cups260 each have an O-ring seat 262 to retain an O-ring 244. At the bottomof each of cups 260 is a water outlet opening 264. A pair of rectangularbayonet openings 266 are used to secure secondary coil 74 beneath basesupport 240. Eight alignment ribs 268 are formed on the outer peripheraledge to align base support 240 within grooves 224 of base 200. Locatedat the outer periphery of base support 240 are a pair of U-shaped slots270 and L-shaped slots 272. A bow-tie shape support 274 is formed at thecenter of base support 240 and serves as an energy diverter feature forsonically welding bottom shield 242 to base support 240. As best seen inFIG. 11C, an oval wall 276 is disposed on the bottom of base support 240and is used to interface with and about oval wall 214 on base assembly72 (FIG. 9A). At the center is a support structure 280 having a pilotaperture 282. Two pairs of long and short locating ribs 284 and 286 forma T-configuration. The free ends of ribs 284 and 286, along with theends of oval wall 276 serve to pilot the inner radial circumference ofsecondary coil 74.

[0088] Bottom shield 242 is shown individually in FIGS. 12A-C. A pair oftop cups 290 are configured to oppose bottom cups 260 on base support240 with O-rings 244 being captured therebetween. Openings 292 in eachof cups 290 are adapted to receive the lower ends of quartz sleeves 80(FIG. 8A). Six upwardly extending ribs 294 are arranged in a generallyoval manner to capture the lower end of UV bulb assembly 82 (FIG. 8A). Agenerally rectangular shaped pocket 296 is sized to receive smart chip250 therewithin and also the dovetail base of light pipe 252 (FIG. 15B).Pocket 296 is defined on its top side by four inboard extending wedgeshaped ribs 300. The ribs 300 cooperate to retain light pipe 252 in adove-tail type mount. The bottom of pocket 296 is formed by intermediateand end cross-members 302 and 304. Wire openings 306 are formed inbosses 310 located on the opposite side of bottom shield 240 from pocket296. Wire openings 306 accommodate the mounting of thermistor 246. Also,four triangular ribs 312 are formed on bottom shield 240 and serve toalign enclosure subassembly 76. The undersides 314 of top cups 290 forma seat to retain O-rings 244 (FIG. 10A).

[0089] Secondary coil 74 is shown in FIG. 13A. Coil 74 includes anannular bobbin 320 which has a wire coil 326 wrapped thereabout. Thereare 55 turns on wire coil 326. Bobbin 320 includes a pair ofdiametrically spaced retaining tangs 322 and a pair of apertured bosses324. A pair of lead wires 330 extend through apertured bosses 324.Retaining tangs 322 are designed to secure within tang openings 266(FIGS. 11A-C) of base support 240 to secure secondary coil 74 beneathbottom support assembly 76 (FIG. 8A).

[0090] Smart chip 250 is shown in FIG. 14. Smart chip 250 has a mainbody 340 with a computer chip 342 imbedded or molded therein. Main body340 includes a rectangular portion 344 and a wedge portion 346. Smartchip 342 is slid into pocket 296 with rectangular portion 344 being heldin an interference fit and wedge portion 346 extending outboard.

[0091] Light pipe 252 is shown in FIGS. 15A and B. Light pipe 252includes a curved portion 350 and a block shaped mounting portion 352.On the underside of mounting portion 352 is a wedge shaped dovetailportion 354. The dovetail portion 354 engages with the four wedged ribs302 of pocket 296 (FIGS. 12A-C) to securely fasten light pipe 252 tobottom shield 242. Curved portion 350 includes a top face 360 which ispolished and receives UV light from within lamp assembly 24. The UVlight causes light pipe 252 to fluoresce and emit visible light which isreflected to pass out an outboard face 362 on light pipe 252. An inboardcurved face 364 faces the base of UV bulb assembly 82 and actuallyreceives relatively little UV light, as compared to top face 360, whenlamp assembly 24 is operating. Light pipe 252 will be described ingreater detail later in conjunction with the operation of lamp assembly24.

[0092]FIG. 16 is an exploded view of top support assembly 78. Componentsof top support assembly 78 include a top cap 366, a top shield 368, aninlet O-ring 370 and a pair of quartz O-rings 372. Top cap 366 and topshield 368 are shown individually in respective FIGS. 17 and 18. Top cap366 has a disk body 374 with a button 376 extending upwardly from itstop side. Button 376 operates to unseat outlet ball 102 of filterassembly 26 when filter assembly 26 is placed over lamp assembly 24.Around the outer periphery is a flange 380 with a groove 382 forreceiving inlet O-ring 370. Disposed on the underside of disk body 374is a pair of top cups 384. Formed within top cups 384 are seal steps386. Openings 388 extend through top cap 366. Top shield 368 has acircular main body 390 with recesses 392 formed therein which areadapted to cooperate with top cups 384. A pair of openings 394 extendthrough top shield 368. Quartz O-rings 372 are captured between top cups384 and recesses 392 providing top support assembly 78 with a sealmechanism for sealing about the top ends of quartz sleeves 80 duringassembly of lamp assembly 24.

[0093]FIG. 19 shows an exploded view of lamp assembly 24. FIGS. 20A-Bshow front and side views of an enclosure 400. Enclosure and reflectorsubassemblies 86 each include an enclosure 400 and a reflector 402.Enclosures 400 each include a curved center portion 404 connectingbetween a pair of planer portions 405. At the base of each enclosure 400are a pair of L-shaped retaining tangs 406. Located along thelongitudinal peripheries of each of enclosures 400 are flanges 407having a series of pins 408 and mating holes 410. When pressed together,enclosures 400 mate with one another with opposing pins 408 and holes410 cooperatingly fitting together. At the top of enclosures 400 areopposing lower and upper flanges 412 and 414 creating a lid receivinggap 416 therebetween. Gap 416 receives top support assembly 78 when lampassembly 24 is assembled. A generally rectangular opening 420 is formedin the top of enclosure 400 to accommodate portions of elastomericO-ring 370. At the base of each enclosure 400 is an outer flange 422 andan inner flange 424. Inner flanges 424 are designed to capture aboutbottom support assembly 76. Outer flanges 422 are received by base 200.Retaining tangs 406 are received within grooves on the inner surface ofbase 200. Enclosures 400 have a series of longitudinally spaced ribs 426to enhance structural strength.

[0094]FIGS. 21A and B show an exemplary reflector 402. Reflector 402 isgenerally Omega shaped in cross-section have flanges 430 and a centercurved portion 432. Curved portion 432 includes a constant radiusportion 434 and a converging radius portion 436. Constant radius portion434 extends over an angle a of approximately 90°. The radius ofcurvature over center curved portion 432 is constant. Meanwhile, theradius of curvature of converging radius portion 436 decreases frominflection points 438 to flanges 430.

[0095] As can be appreciated from FIG. 22, this Omega (Ω) shaped designof reflectors 402 enhances the focusing or reflecting of UV light raysupon quartz sleeves 80 while minimizing rays reflected or focused backupon bulbs 440 of UV bulb assembly 82. Light rays travellingperpendicular or normal from points on the surface of bulbs 440 willencounter the greatest angle of reflectance upon converging radiusportion 436 adjacent flanges 430 with the angle of reflectance of thenormal light rays decreasing moving toward inflection points 438. Thatis, the closer a portion of a bulb 440 is to reflector 402, the greaterthe angle of reflectance provided by reflector 402 to help normal lightrays avoid returning to UV bulb assembly 82. Similarly, light rays whichstrike reflector 402 at an angle insufficient to bounce directly upon aquartz tube 80 will tend to strike another portion of reflector 402 oneor more times and then strike a quartz sleeve 80 rather than strikingone of the emitting bulbs 440. Use of these Omega shaped reflectors 402is estimated to produce up to a 40% increase in lights ray intensitywhich strike quartz tubes 80 either directly or within the 3 reflectionsor bounces off the inside mirrored surfaces as compared to usingreflectors which are completely circular in-cross sectional shape andencompass bulbs 440. Reflectors 402 are made of aluminum in thispreferred embodiment with the insides of reflectors 402 being polishedto enhance reflectivity. Reflectors 402 should be made of a materialwhich reflects rather than absorbs light in the UV range of theelectromagnetic spectrum. While it is preferred that reflector 402 havea generally smooth, continuous curved inner surface, it is also possiblethat a faceted reflector could also be used as long as the facetsenhance the diversion or focusing of reflected light rays away frombulbs 440 and toward quartz tubes 80.

[0096]FIG. 23A shows UV bulb assembly 82. UV bulb assembly 82 comprisesthe two side-by-side emitting bulbs 440 with an upper passageway 442which allows gases to pass between the two bulbs 440. A pair offilaments 444 is electrically connected to respective pairs of leads446. Leads 446 pass through a base 448 of UV bulb assembly 82. Leads 436are connected to secondary coil 74 to power lamp assembly 24. UV bulbassembly 82 is filled with a neon-argon (Ne—Ar) gas mixture in a mostpreferred ratio of 99:1. It is also envisioned that mixtures from a50:50 mixture up to a 99.5-0.5 mixture will also work in the presentinvention. Also, mercury (Hg) is contained within bulbs 440 and is in asolidified state at room temperatures. The mercury is vaporized duringoperation of UV bulb assembly 82. The neon-argon gas mixture serves as astarter to assist in getting the mercury in a plasma state. Use of theneon-argon gas mixture produces a higher instant light output comparedto conventional UV bulb assemblies using gases such as using greaterthan 50% argon. Also, the use of neon-argon mixture provides a higheroverall stability with higher wall temperatures in bulbs 440 than foundin conventional UV bulb assemblies. This is particular important in coldweather or cold operating conditions such as in the presence of coldrunning water through WTS unit 20. These features contribute to animproved intensity and shorter startup time as compared to previous UVbulb assemblies used in WTS units.

[0097] Energy delivered from one filament 444 arcs upwardly throughpassageway 442 and goes down to the other filament 444. In the processthe gases are excited and light is produced. During cathode pre-heat,the filaments produce an orange-red ionization. As the neon-argonmixture starts to get excited, a red light is produced. Finally, theionization of the neon-argon gas mixture forces the Hg to vaporizeproducing UV light of 254 nanometers in wavelength. It is the UV lightwhich is most effective in destroying microorganisms passing throughquartz sleeves 80 of lamp assembly 24.

[0098] Condensing O-ring 84 is used to cushion UV bulb assembly 82 fromcontact with quartz sleeves 80. O-ring 84 also acts as a heat sinkdrawing heat from bulbs 440 to quartz sleeves 80 through whichrelatively cool water passes during operation of WTS unit 20. After UVbulb assembly 82 has been initially excited and operated, thetemperature of the portion of bulbs 440 directly in contact with O-ring84 is slightly cooler than the adjacent other portions of bulbs 440.Accordingly, the vaporized mercury plasma tends to condense within bulbs440 adjacent condensing O-ring 84 whenever lamp assembly 24 is shut off.Without the presence of the condensing O-ring 84, much more of themercury would tend to condense at the base of lamp assembly 82 beneathfilaments 444. It has been found that lamp assembly 24 can be brought upto a predetermined intensity level much quicker in the presence ofcondensing O-ring 84 than in its absence. This is because the mercurycondenses in the arcing pathway between filaments 444 rather thanbeneath filaments 444 and outside of the arcing path.

[0099] FIGS. 23B-D show a UV bulb assembly 82 operating under threeexperimental conditions. Output from these assemblies are shown FIG. 24in the form of a graph. In the first case, FIG. 23B, UV bulb assembly 82is placed in an upright position, however, without condensing O-ring 84being present. In the second case, FIG. 23C, UV bulb assembly 82 isplaced upside down such that condensed Hg tends to gravitate to end ofbulbs 440 distal to base 448. Again, no heat sink is present. Finally,in FIG. 23D, UV bulb assembly 82 is placed in an upright position withcondensing O-ring 84 present and a brass bar used as a heat sink todissipate heat. The light intensity outputs of these experimental UVlamp assemblies 84 were recorded at two separate times, t₁ and t₂. Theoutputs have been normalized against the highest output recorded at timet₂.

[0100] From the graph shown in FIG. 24, it is seen that the third casewith UV bulb assembly 82 having its base down and using a heat sink,produces the highest normalized intensity of 1.0 at time t₂. The secondbest performance occurred in the second embodiment with the baseinverted or up and no heat sink used, resulting in a normalized outputof 0.84 times that of the third case. Finally, the first case with noheat sink and with the UV bulb assembly in an upright position producedthe slowest startup for the UV bulb assembly 84 with only 0.56 times theintensity of the base down/heat sink of the third case. Hence, thepresence of condensing O-ring 84 is advantageous in the presentinvention where use of a UV bulb assembly 84 is desired which hasvirtually instantaneous startup and intensity. This rapid build up tomaximum intensity allows lamp assembly 24 to be operated intermittentlyrather continuously while still providing satisfactory destruction ofmicroorganisms. Although not used in the present embodiment, otheradditional heat sinks could be used such as an Al foil wrapped aboutO-ring 84.

[0101] Light pipe 252 will now be described in greater detail. Lightpipe 252 is preferably made of acrylic, designated as V826, which isgenerally clear with a 1% let down or ratio of fluorescent green dyemixed in. The green dye is available from Uniform Color of Holland,Mich. under their designation 60-3170. This dye is adapted to fluorescewhen stuck by the UV light, such as light 254 nm in wavelength,resulting in the emission of visible light in the green range. Thegreen, color has proven to provide a very efficient transfer of lightthrough light pipe 252 while severely inhibiting the passage of othercolors. For example, the blue light portion produced by the mercury inUV lamp assembly 72 does pass through light pipe 252 so that the lightis visible from the outside of WTS unit 10 when UV light is not strikinglight pipe 252. Accordingly, a user can tell by the presence of a blueglow whether lamp assembly 24 is operating or not. However, theintensity of blue light allowed to pass through light pipe 252 isgreatly diminished. Consequently, a light sensor on electronic assembly66 primarily senses the intensity of visible light created by thefluorescing due to UV light striking pipe 252 and not other visiblelight produced by lamp assembly 24. Hence, light pipe 252 operatesalmost as a band pass filter.

[0102] Geometrically, light pipe 252 has a front curved inboard surface364 and a top surface 360. Also, at the end of mounting block 352 is alight emitting outboard surface 362. Both top surface 360 and emittingoutboard surface 362 are highly polished to readily receive or transmitlight rays. Most of the light entering inboard surface 364 is from thefilament area of UV bulb assembly 82 as light pipe 252 is disposedadjacent filaments 444 as best seen in FIG. 39. The light emitted fromfilaments 444 is generally in the red range of visible light and is notreadily transmitted through light pipe 252. As shown in FIGS. 25C and25F, top surface 360 is slightly curved and slants downwardly frominboard face 364 toward outboard surface 262. This allows top surface360 to be focused toward the mid-length of mirrored reflectors 402 andalso to receive UV light from the majority of lamp assembly 24. When UVlight strikes top surface 360, the dye in light pipe 252 fluoresces andemits light in the green visible light spectrum. This visible greenlight is reflected by internal surfaces of light pipe 252 and directedout of emitting outboard surface 362, as suggested by FIG. 25F. Byutilizing a green florescent dye in light pipe 252, it has been foundthat the intensity of visible light output from light pipe 252 isgenerally linearly proportionally to the UV light created within lampassembly 24. Accordingly, by sensing visible light emitted from emittingoutboard surface 362, the intensity of UV light in lamp assembly 24 canbe directly monitored. If this output were not linear, a computer chipand look up table could be utilized to establish the relationshipbetween the output of light from outboard surface 362 and UV lightintensity output by bulb assembly 82. However, this additional need fora computer chip and look up table would greatly increase the complexityand cost of the monitoring circuitry. The measuring of visible lightrather than UV light allows an inexpensive visible light detector andacrylic light pipe to be used rather than requiring the use of a moreexpensive UV light detector and quartz windows or light pipes.

[0103] The present invention also envisions the possibility ofmonitoring the color output from light pipe 252 to monitor thetemperature of lamp assembly 24. When UV lamp assembly 82 is notoutputting UV light, but instead, is just transmitting visible lightproduced by the filaments or the neon-argon gas mixture, light of verylow intensity is output from outboard surface 362. Also, the color maydiffer from that of the green usually output when bulb assembly isoperating at a high intensity.

[0104] Lamp assembly 24 is assembled as follow. The first step is toassemble bottom support assembly 76. As suggested in FIG. 10A, O-rings244 are captured between base support 240 and bottom shield 242. Smartchip 250 is press fit into pocket 296 and light pipe 252 is dove-tailedmounted above pocket 296. Base support 240 and bottom shield 242 arethen sonically welded together. Referring to FIG. 8A, secondary coil 74is mounted by tangs 322 to bayonet openings 266 on base support 240 withleads 330 extending away from bottom support assembly 76. Top supportassembly 78 is next assembled, as suggested in FIG. 16, with quartzO-rings 372 being captured between top cap 366 and top shield 368 whichare sonically welded together. O-ring 370 is held within groove 382 intop cap 422.

[0105] UV bulb assembly 82 is placed in bulb receiving ribs 294 ofbottom support assembly 76 with leads 440 extending through slots 270and 272 of base support 240. Then, quartz sleeves 80 are pushed downinto the O-rings 244 of base assembly 206. Next, condensing O-ring 84 isslid down over the top of UV bulb assembly 82 to maintain the correctpositioning between quartz sleeves 80 and bulbs 440. Top supportassembly 78 is then placed over quartz tubes 80 with quartz O-rings 372sealing about the exterior of quartz tubes 80.

[0106] Reflectors 402 are juxtapositioned within respective enclosures400 with glue being applied between curved portions 404 of enclosures400 and curved portions 432 of enclosures 402. A first enclosure andreflector assembly 86 is laid down horizontally in a fixture (notshown). Then the assembly consisting of the UV bulb assembly 82, quartztubes 80, bottom and top support assemblies 76 and 78 are placed in onehalf of assembly 86. Then the remaining half of the reflector andenclosure assembly 86 is brought down over the first assembly 86 withpilot pins 408 pressing into mating holes 410. The two enclosureassemblies 86 are sonically welded together with flanges 407 along eachside of enclosures 400 being sonically welded together.

[0107] Next base assembly 72 is attached to bottom support assembly 76.Ball 206 is first inserted into pocket 222 of base 200. Base assembly 72is then mounted beneath bottom support assembly 76 with light pipe 252extending out pocket 226 of base assembly 72. Accordingly, when UV lightfrom UV bulb assembly 82 strikes light pipe 252, visible green light isseen outside of lamp assembly 24. Manifold seal 204 effects a sealbetween base 200 and base support 240.

C. Base Unit

[0108] FIGS. 26A-C show a bottom shroud assembly 60 in top, bottom, andexploded views. Bottom shroud assembly 60 includes bottom shroud 32,inlet and outlet elbow assemblies 62 and 64, four foot pads 582, aspeaker screen 584, a telephone jack cover 586 and a pair of C-clips588. C-clips 588 secure inlet and outlet elbow assemblies 62 and 64 tobottom shroud 32. Inlet and outlet elbow assemblies 62 and 64 arecomprised of inlet elbow 590, outlet elbow 592, O-rings 594, collets 596and adapter 598.

[0109] Bottom shroud 32 is shown in FIG. 26C. An outer perimeter wall602 is disposed adjacent a recess 604 which surrounds a raised platform606. Three threaded bosses 610 are adapted to receive screws whichsecure inner sleeve 50 to bottom shroud 32. A pair of raised ribs 612and four retaining ribs 614, which extend between perimeter wall 602 andraised platform 606, are used to position back and front shrouds 34 and36. Similarly, four raised cross-shaped ribs 616 are used to supportelectrical assembly 66. Two positioning bosses 620 are used to pilotmounting pins on outlet cup 58. Inlet and outlet openings 622 and 624are sized to received elbows 62 and 64 using C-clips. Square opening 626is adapted to provide access to a phone jack on electrical assembly 66.Arches 632 and 634 are formed on the underside of bottom shroud 22 toaccommodate inlet and outlet hoses (not shown) delivering water to andfrom WTS unit 20.

[0110] Electronics assembly 66 is displayed in FIGS. 27A-F. Componentsof electronics assembly 66 include a lower board 648, an upper board650, a phone jack 652, a primary coil 656, a smart sensor assembly 654,a power jack 660, a flow hall effect sensor 662, a VFD 664, a speaker666 and a magnet sensor 668. Primary coil 656 holds 10 turns of wire. Aclip 670 holds VFD 664 to upper board 650. Lower board 648 has a pair ofsupport access boss openings 672, an outlet opening 674 in which sensor662 is disposed, and an inlet opening 676. Support access openings 672allow passage of bosses 610 on bottom shroud 32. Inlet and outletopenings 674 and 676 accommodate water passages entering and exitingrelative to inner sleeve 50 and outlet cup assembly 56. The perimeter oflower board 648 is configured to be supported by stepped ribs 616 ofbottom shroud 22. Smart sensor assembly 654 includes a coil 674 and alight sensor 676. Coil 674 is arranged to transpond with and powerfilter and lamp assembly smart chips 112 and 250. Light sensor 676receives visible light output from light pipe 252. Magnet sensor 668 ismounted on upper board 650 to sense when top shroud 40 and magnet 70 areproperly mounted over the remainder of base unit 22.

[0111] Outlet cup assembly 56, as illustrated in FIGS. 28A-D, includesoutlet cup 58, an upper bearing 704, a flow regulator 706, a lowerbearing 710, and a light pipe cup 712. Outlet cup 58 has a base wall714, lower and upper side walls 716 and 720 joined by a step 722 and anupper flange 724. Referring to FIG. 28B, a pair of retaining covers 726are sonically welded to base wall 714 to seal about L-shaped openings728 formed in base wall 714. Openings 728 serve to bayonet mount tangs232 located on the bottom of lamp assembly 24. Formed in portions oflower and upper side walls 716 and 720 are lower and upper steps 730 and732. Steps 730 and 732 accommodate the rotation of light pipe 252 andpocket 296 as lamp assembly 24 is twisted to mount and dismount relativeto outlet cup assembly 56. An opening 734 in lower wall 716 allows lightpipe cup 712 to be mounted therein. When lamp assembly 24 is locked inplace in outlet cup assembly 56, light pipe 252 is aligned with opening734 and light pipe cup 712. Light pipe cup 712 is aligned with lightsensor 676, as is displayed in FIG. 41.

[0112] Downwardly depending from base wall 714 is a conduit 736 with apassageway 738 extending therethrough. A collar 740 is formed on theupper end of conduit 736. The inside of passageway 738 has fourlongitudinally extending slots 742. Each of upper and lower bearings 704and 710 has ribs (not shown) thereon which are received in slots 742 toprevent rotation of bearings 704 and 710 relative to outlet cup 58. Notethat upper bearing 704 has a pointed upper end and extends above collar740. When lamp assembly 24 is mounted to outlet cup 58, upper bearing704 will unseat check ball 206 held in base 200 of lamp assembly 24allowing water to pass to flow regulator 706 and then to outlet elbowassembly 64. When lamp assembly 24 is removed from outlet cup 58, checkball 206 will reseat and prevent water from spilling from the bottom oflamp assembly 24.

[0113] Lower and upper bearings 704 and 710 rotatably support flowregulator 706 which has a pair of spiral blades thereon. Imbedded in oneof the blades is a magnetic chip. As flow regulator 706 spins, flow halleffect sensor 662 picks the passing magnetic field created by themagnetic chip thereby sensing the flow rate of the WTS unit 20. Locatedon the bottom side of base wall 714 is a pair of stepped positioningpins 744 which are configured to be received in bosses 620 of bottomshroud 32. A cutout 750 is formed in flange 724 to accommodate a watercarrying conduit on inner sleeve 50.

[0114] As best seen in FIG. 37, inlet valve assembly 54 mounts in innersleeve 50 and fluidly connects inlet elbow assembly 62 of lower shroudassembly 60 with inlet opening 172 of filter assembly 26. FIGS. 29A-Cindividually illustrate inlet valve assembly 54. Components of inletvalve assembly 54 include inlet valve housing 760, inlet spring 762,inlet check ball 764, inlet offset 766, inlet cup seal 768 and a pair ofelastomeric O-rings 770. Inlet valve housing 760 has a pair of reduceddiameter end portions 772 and 774 for receiving O-rings 770. An innerbore 775 in inlet valve housing 760 is stepped to include a seat 776 forreceiving the end of inlet spring 762. Inlet check ball 764 rests uponinlet spring 762 and is depressible by inlet offset 766 when filterassembly 26 is mounted in inner sleeve 50. When a filter assembly 26 isremoved from WTS unit 20, inlet check ball 764 seats preventing waterfrom passing through inlet valve assembly 54 and to the chamber vacatedby the absent filter assembly 26. A pair of sealing beads 780 are formedon the outside of inlet cup seal 768 which assist in sealing with innersleeve 50. Inlet offset 766 and inlet cup seal 768 have interlockingribs and grooves 784 and 786 to prevent relative rotation therebetween.

[0115] FIGS. 30A-C show inner sleeve 50 and three covers 52. FIGS. 31A-Dshows inner sleeve 50 with outlet cup assembly 56 welded thereto. Innersleeve 50 has a circumferentially extending flange 804 extending aboutits upper perimeter. Inner sleeve 50 has a raised back portion 806 whichcurves downwardly to meet a lower front portion 808. Formed in the frontof front portion 808 are a pair of spaced apart slotted retaining ribs810 for retaining upper circuit board 650. Looking to FIGS. 30B and C,the base of inner sleeve 50 includes three L-shaped retaining openings812 for receiving retaining tangs 180 on filter assembly 26. Adjacentopenings 812 are three ramps 813 which cooperate with correspondingramped scallops 178 on the bottom of filter assembly 26. Ramps 812 andscallops 178 help lower and raise filter assembly 26 when filterassembly 26 is installed or removed from inner sleeve 50. Covers 52 arewelded beneath respective retaining openings 812 to seal the bottom ofinner sleeve 50 against leakage. A central opening 814 is formed in thebottom of inner sleeve 56 to receive outlet cup assembly 56. Threespacer legs 816 are circumferentially spaced about the base of innersleeve 50 and are designed to cooperate with the three bosses 610 toreceive screws which affix bottom shroud 22 to inner sleeve 50. Screwspass through bosses 610 and tap into holes 817 in spacer legs 816.

[0116] A water inlet conduit 818 is formed in the base of inner sleeve50. As best seen in FIGS. 31D and 37, conduit 818 includes a lowerconduit portion 820, an upper conduit portion 822 and an intermediateneck portion 824. Lower conduit portion 820 receives spring 762 and ball764 of inlet valve assembly 54 while upper conduit portion 822 slidablyretains inlet offset 766 and inlet cup seal 768. Surrounding centralopening 814 is a step 726. Step 726 mates with flange 724 on outlet cupassembly 56 so that a sonically welded joint 730 can be formedtherebetween.

[0117] Turning now to FIGS. 32A-C and FIGS. 33A-C, lens 42 and frontshroud 36 are displayed. Front shroud 36 is generally U-shaped having afront portion 850 and a pair of side portions 852 extending rearwardly.Formed in the front of front portion 850 is lens receiving opening 854adapted to receive the lower edge and sides of lens 42. A pair ofvertical slots 856 are located in the bottom of front portion 850. Twopairs of hooked projections 860 extend rearwardly along the insides ofside walls 852. Located atop side walls 852 are respective contouredflanges 862. As best seen in FIG. 33C, lens 42 interlocks with lensreceiving opening 854. Prior to assembly with other components, lens 42is sonically welded to lens receiving opening 854 to form an assembly.

[0118] Back shroud 34 is illustrated in FIGS. 35A-E. Back shroud 34includes a back portion 902 and a pair of forwardly extending sideportions 904. Extending forwardly along the inside of side portions 904are two pairs of inner ribs 906. At the forward end of each of ribs 906is a retaining recess 910 which is configured to releasably cooperatewith hooked projections 860 of front shroud 36. A contoured and steppedtop flange extends across the top of back shroud 34. Similarly, a bottomflange 914 runs across the bottom of back shroud 24 and is shaped to bereceived within recesses in bottom shroud 34. Power plug assembly 44extends through and is retained by the lower portion of back portion902.

[0119]FIGS. 35A and B shows top shroud 40, magnet holder 68 and magnet70. FIGS. 36A-D shows top shroud 40 independently. Top shroud 40includes a front portion 940, a pair of side portions 942, a rearportion 944 and a top wall 946. A lower flange 948 extends about thelower periphery of top shroud 30 and is configured to match with theupper flanges of back and front shrouds 24 and 26. An upper lensreceiving opening 950 is formed to match the contours of the upperportion of lens 932. Magnet holder 68 is mounted adjacent opening 950and holds magnet 70 in the proximity of a magnet sensor 668 onelectrical assembly 66. This magnet 70 and sensor 668 operate to cut offpower to WTS unit 20 power when top shroud 40 is removed.

D. Assembly and Operation

[0120] Base unit 22 is assembled as follows. Inner sleeve 50 is placedupside upon a fixture (not shown.) Covers 52 are sonically welded to thebottom of inner sleeve 50 to form an inner sleeve assembly. Outlet cupassembly 56 is next assembled. Outlet cup 58 has covers 726 sonicallywelded thereto. Upper and lower bearings 704 and 706 and flow regulator706 are positioned within passageway 736 in the bottom of outlet cup 58.Also, light pipe cup 712 is installed in opening 734 of outlet cup 58.Outlet cup assembly 56 is then placed within the bottom of inner sleeve50 with flanges 724 being welded to inner sleeve 50 adjacent centralopening 814 to form weld joint 830. Next inlet valve assembly 54 isinstalled in conduit 818 of inner sleeve 50 as suggested in FIGS. 29A-Cand 37. Inlet valve housing 760, inlet spring 762 and inlet check ball764 are placed within lower conduit portion 820 of conduit 818 withO-ring 770 creating a seal between the upper portion of inlet valvehousing 760 and lower conduit portion 820. Inlet cup seal 768 and inletoffset 766 are placed within neck portion 824 of conduit 818 with sealrings 780 sealing within conduit 818.

[0121] Electronics assembly 66 is next attached to the inner sleeveassembly. Lower board 748 is placed over the bottom of outlet cup 58.Flanges on upper board 650 are received within slotted retaining ribs810 in the front of inner sleeve 50. Lens 42 is sonically welded tofront shroud 36. Front shroud 36 and back shroud 34 are then attached toinner sleeve 50. VFD display 664 on electronics assembly 66 is alignedwith lens 42.

[0122] Bottom shroud assembly 60 is next assembled. Inlet and outletelbow assemblies 62 and 64 are secured to bottom shroud 32. Bottomshroud assembly 60 is placed over electronics assembly 66 and outlet cupassembly 58. Raised ribs 612 provide support to the edges of lower board748. Inlet and outlet elbow assemblies 62 and 64 respectively receivelower step 772 of inlet valve housing 760 and conduit 736 of outlet cup58. Stepped positioning pins 744 pass through lower board 748 and arereceived in positioning bosses 620 of bottom shroud 32. Two of mountingbosses 610 pass through boss openings 672 in lower board 748. The thirdboss 610 passes outside of lower board 748 as can be seen in FIGS. 40and 41. Mounting bosses 610 match up with mounting legs 816 on innersleeve 850. Three screws are inserted into mounting bosses 610 withscrews self-tapping into openings 817 in mounting legs 816 securingbottom shroud assembly 60 to inner sleeve assembly and back and front isshrouds 34 and 36 completing the assembly of base unit 22, with theexception of top shroud 40.

[0123] Lamp assembly 24 is bayonet mounted with retaining tangs 232releasably engaging with L-shaped retaining openings 726 of outlet cup58. In a similar manner, filter assembly 26 is coaxially placed overlamp assembly 24 with retaining tangs 180 of filter assembly 26 bayonetmounting to L-shaped retainer openings 812 on inner sleeve 50. As filterassembly 26 is mounted, filter assembly 26 lowers upon ramped recesses

[0124] Top shroud 40 has magnet holder 68 attached thereto. Magnet 70 isthen placed within magnet holder 68. Top shroud 40 is placed over filterassembly 26 and upon back and front shrouds 34 and 36 to completeassembly of WTS unit 20. Magnet 70 is located in the proximity of themagnet sensor of electronics assembly 66 thereby allowing WTS unit 20 toenergize.

[0125] Looking to FIG. 37, water enters outlet assembly 62 beneathbottom shroud 32 and passes to inlet valve assembly 54. Inlet valveassembly 54 delivers water through inner sleeve 50 to reach inletopening 172 of filter assembly 26 with the untreated water lifting inletball 100 from its seat 174. The untreated water passes beneath bottomfilter end cap 106 and radially outwardly until striking filter housing96. The untreated water then passes upwardly into the spaced formedbetween filter housing 96 and the radial exterior of filter block 90.The untreated water then filters radially inwardly passing throughfilter block 90 until reaching base and inner sleeve 92. Water passesupwardly until reaching top filter end cap 108. The now filtered watertravels radially inwardly beneath cap portion 136 of filter end cap 108and over top portion 154 of base and inner sleeve 92.

[0126] With lamp assembly 24 installed within filter assembly 26, button376 atop lamp assembly 24 displaces outlet check ball 102 from its seat164 on base and inner sleeve 92. The filtered water passes out of filterassembly 26 through its outlet opening 160 and enters lamp assembly 24through opening 388 in top support assembly 78 and into quartz sleeves80. The filtered water is irradiated with UV light from UV bulb assembly82. UV bulb assembly 82 is powered by secondary coil 74 which receivespower from primary coil 656 of electronics assembly 66. UV lightproduced within lamp assembly 24 strikes light pipe 252 causing thefluorescent dye therein to fluoresce and produce visible light. Thevisible light passes from light pipe 252 and through light pipe cup 712to reach visible light sensor 676. Note that filter and lamp smart chips112 and 250 are located in close proximity with smart sensor assembly654.

[0127] Looking now to FIG. 38, the filtered water is irradiated with UVlight from UV bulb assembly 82 until reaching bottom support assembly76. Reflected UV light from reflectors 402 assist in increase the amountof light which is directed upon quartz sleeves 80. The filtered andirradiated water pass through openings 264 in bottom support assembly 76and is collected in base 72. Water exits lamp assembly 72 through outletopening 228 in base 72 as check ball 206 remains unseated by top bearing704. The now fully treated water passes by and rotates rotor or flowregulator 706. Hall effect sensor 662 picks up the passing magneticfield created by spinning flow regulator 706 to determine the flow ratethrough WTS unit 20. The treated water then exits WTS unit 20 throughoutlet elbow assembly 60.

[0128] While in the foregoing specification this invention has beendescribed in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and manydetails have been set forth for the purpose of illustration, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptibleto alteration and that certain details described herein can varyconsiderably without departing from the basic principles of theinvention.

[0129] For example, rather than using a secondary water treatment devicesuch as a lamp assembly which emits UV radiation needed to killmicroorganisms, other treatment device may used. Examples may include anozone generator, a dispenser of mineral additives, an ion exchanger or adevice employing hollow fiber media for treating water. These secondarywater treatment devices ideally would also be disposed in the chamberdefined by the inner sleeve of a filter assembly. These secondary watertreatment device may also be inductively powered by a primary coil in abase unit which controls the operation of the water treatment system.Also, a set of valves and seals may be employed to seal the secondarywater treatment device in manner similar to that described above withrespect to the base unit, filter assembly and and lamp assembly.

What is claimed:
 1. A point-of-use water treatment system for treatingwater, the system comprising: a base unit; a filter assembly mountedrelative to the base unit, the filter assembly including a filter blockand an inner sleeve disposed within the filter block, the inner sleevedefining a chamber therein; a water treatment device for treating waterpassing through the water treatment system, the water treatment devicebeing disposed at least partially within the chamber of the innersleeve; and a first valve disposed and controlling the flow of waterbetween the water treatment device and at least one of the base unit andthe filter assembly.
 2. The point-of-use water treatment system of claim1 further comprising: a second valve; wherein the first valve controlsthe flow of water between the filter assembly and the water treatmentdevice and the second valve controls the flow water between the watertreatment device and the base unit.
 3. The point-of-use water treatmentdevice of claim 1 further comprising: first and second seals sealingbetween the filter assembly and the water treatment device and betweenthe water treatment device and the base unit.
 4. The point-of-use watertreatment system of claim 1 wherein: the water treatment device includesa lamp assembly for irradiating water passing through the watertreatment device.
 5. The point-of-use water treatment system of claim 1wherein: the water treatment device is one of an ozone generator, adispenser for mineral additives, an ion exchanger or a hollow fibermedia.
 6. The point-of-use water treatment system of claim 1 wherein:the filter assembly includes a first end cap which extends over a firstend of the filter block; and the inner sleeve includes an inner sleeveopening therein; wherein at least a portion of the first valve isdisposed between the first end cap and the inner sleeve and controls theflow of water such that the water must pass through filter block andthen between the first end cap and the inner sleeve before exiting thefilter assembly through the inner sleeve opening and entering into thechamber.
 7. The point-of-use water treatment system of claim 6 wherein:the water treatment device cooperates with the filter assembly to keepthe first valve open when the water treatment device is installed withinthe filter assembly; and the first valve closes when the filter assemblyis removed relative to the water treatment device thereby preventingwater from exiting through the first valve.
 8. The point-of-use watertreatment system of claim 7 wherein: the first valve includes a checkball and the water treatment device includes a dislocating pin; whereinthe mounting of the filter assembly with the water treatment deviceoperates to keep the first valve open.
 9. The point-of-use watertreatment device of claim 6 wherein: the filter assembly includes anouter filter housing and a base portion having an inlet valve therein,the base portion and filter housing at least partially cooperating toform a generally closed pressure vessel about the filter block; whereinthe first valve and the inlet valve cooperate to prevent water fromescaping from the filter assembly when the filter assembly is removedfrom the base unit.
 10. The point-of-use water treatment device of claim1 wherein: the filter assembly and the water treatment device arereleasably mounted to the base unit and the filter assembly must bereleased from the base unit before the water treatment device may bereleased.
 11. A filter assembly for filtering a fluid in a fluidtreatment system having a secondary fluid treatment device, the filterassembly comprising: an inner sleeve defining a chamber therewithinconfigured to receive the secondary fluid treatment device at leastpartially within the chamber, the inner sleeve having an outlet openingtherein; a filter block surrounding the inner sleeve; a first end capdisposed about one end of the filter block; and an outlet valve disposedbetween the first end cap and the inner sleeve to control the flow offluid through the outlet opening; wherein fluid may pass through thefilter block and exit the filter assembly by passing through the outletopening and into the chamber.
 12. The filter assembly of claim 11wherein: the inner sleeve includes an elongate portion and a sleeve endcap, the outlet opening being disposed in the sleeve end cap.
 13. Thefilter assembly of claim 12 wherein: the elongate portion iscylindrical.
 14. The filter assembly of claim 11 wherein: the innersleeve includes a base portion which extends generally perpendicular toand outwardly from the elongate portion.
 15. The filter assembly ofclaim 14 further comprising: an outer filter housing which generallysurrounds the filter block; wherein the outer filter housing and thebase portion at least partially cooperate with one another to form aclosed pressure vessel.
 16. The filter assembly of claim 15 wherein: thebase portion includes an inlet valve for controlling the flow of fluidinto the filter assembly.
 17. The filter assembly of claim 15 wherein:the first and second valves seal the filter assembly when the filterassembly is removed from the fluid treatment system to prevent fluidfrom escaping from the filter assembly.
 18. The filter assembly of claim11 further comprising: an outer housing surrounding the filter block;and an end plate secured to the outer housing to form a generally closedpressure vessel, the end plate having an inlet opening to allow fluid toenter the filter assembly.
 19. A replaceable lamp assembly for a watertreatment system comprising: first and second end caps with respectiveinlet and outlet openings therein and a conduit extending therebetween;a bulb assembly to irradiate water flowing from the inlet opening to theoutlet opening; and inlet and outlet seals mounted relative to the endcaps to fluidly seal the lamp assembly relative to the water treatmentsystem so that the lamp assembly is replaceable relative to the watertreatment system.
 20. The lamp assembly of claim 19 further comprising:an enclosure which cooperates with the end caps to form a generallyclosed vessel about the UV bulb assembly and conduit.
 21. The lampassembly of claim 20 wherein: the second end cap further includes anoutlet valve to prevent water from escaping through the second end capwhen the lamp assembly is not installed in the water treatment system.22. The lamp assembly of claim 21 wherein: the outlet valve is a checkball valve.
 23. The lamp assembly of claim 20 further including: a lightpipe which allows light from within the lamp assembly to pass outsidethe outer housing.
 24. The lamp assembly of claim 20 further including:a secondary coil to power the lamp assembly.
 25. The lamp assembly ofclaim 24 wherein: the secondary coil is mounted adjacent the second endcap.
 26. The lamp assembly of claim 20 further comprising: at least oneconduit extending between the inlet and the outlet openings; and thebulb assembly irradiates the conduit to sterilize the water passingtherethrough.
 27. The lamp assembly of claim 20 further including: areflector mounted within the housing which reflects and focusesradiation from the bulb assembly on to the conduit.
 28. The lampassembly of claim 20 wherein: the housing includes first and secondelongate enclosures which secure relative to the first and second endcaps to at least partially form the generally closed vessel.
 29. Thelamp assembly of claim 20 wherein: the second end cap includes a mountwhich is capable of releasably mounting to the water treatment system.30. The lamp assembly of claim 29 wherein: the mount includes at leastone bayonet member for bayonet mounting with a water treatment system.31. A water treatment system comprising: a base unit; a replaceable lampassembly which mounts atop the base unit, the lamp assembly having ahousing forming a generally closed pressure vessel with a bulb assemblytherein, the housing including a first end cap having an inlet openingtherein and a second end cap having an outlet opening therein; areplaceable filter assembly which mounts over the lamp assembly and uponthe base unit; and first and second seals; wherein the first seal sealsbetween the filter assembly and lamp assembly and the second seal sealsbetween the lamp assembly and the base unit so that water passes fromthe inlet opening to the outlet opening without escaping the lampassembly.
 32. A lamp assembly comprising: a housing having an inletopening and an outlet opening; a bulb assembly disposed within thehousing to produce radiation; at least one conduit connecting betweenthe inlet opening and the outlet opening to transport fluid through thehousing; and a reflector assembly disposed within the housing; whereinthe reflector assembly is configured to focus light emitted from thebulb assembly on to the at least one conduit to irradiate fluid passingthrough the conduit and to focus light away from the bulb assembly. 33.The lamp assembly of claim 32 wherein: the reflector assembly includesat least one reflector which has a portion of increasing radius ofcurvature and a portion of diminishing radius of curvature whichcooperate to focus radiation away from the bulb assembly and on to theat least one conduit.
 34. The lamp assembly of claim 31 wherein: thereflector assembly includes a pair of reflectors which cooperate tosurround the at least one conduit.
 35. The lamp assembly of claim 32wherein: the reflectors are elongate and are generally omega shaped incross-section having opposing generally curved central portions and apair of opposing flanges which mate relative to one another.
 36. Thelamp assembly of 32 wherein: the reflector assembly includes at leastone reflector having a generally planar portion and a curved portion,the curved portion focusing the emitted radiation upon the at least oneconduit.
 37. The lamp assembly of claim 32 further comprising: an endcap disposed at the lower portion of the lamp assembly.
 38. The lampassembly of claim 37 wherein: the end cap is generally cup-shaped andincludes a self-sealing valve to prevent liquid from escaping from theend cap.
 39. The lamp assembly of claim 38 wherein: the valve includes acheck ball valve.
 40. The lamp assembly of claim 32 further comprising:a top end cap which includes the inlet.
 41. The lamp assembly of claim40 wherein: the top end cap includes a dislodging pin extending awayfrom the bulb assembly.
 42. The lamp assembly of claim 32 wherein: apair of elongate and curved enclosures capturing about the reflectorassembly.
 43. A bulb assembly for use in a lamp assembly to produceelectromagnetic radiation, the bulb assembly comprising: a bulb havingfirst and second ends with an intermediate portion extendingtherebetween, the bulb containing a gas, which may be energized toproduce electromagnetic radiation, and containing solidified mercurywhen the bulb assembly is not energized; a first filament disposed inthe first end and a second filament disposed in the second end; and acondensing element in contact with the intermediate portion of the bulb;wherein the condensing element may serve to cool and condense themercury adjacent the condensing element when the bulb assembly isdeenergized.
 44. The bulb assembly of claim 43 wherein: the condensingelement is an elastomeric O-ring.
 45. The bulb assembly of claim 43wherein: the bulb contains a neon-argon gas mixture containing at least50% neon by weight.
 46. The bulb assembly of claim 45 wherein: the bulbcontains at least 95% neon by weight.
 47. The bulb assembly of claim 46wherein: the bulb is generally U-shaped having a first elongate portionand a second elongate portion and a passageway extending therebetweenwith the first filament in the first elongate portion and the secondfilament in the second elongate portion.
 48. A method for decreasing thestartup time for a bulb assembly, the method including the steps of:providing a bulb assembly including an elongate bulb having first andsecond ends with an intermediate portion extending therebetween, thefirst and second ends having respective first and second filaments andthe bulb having an excitable gas and condensed mercury therein;energizing the bulb assembly to create an electrical arc between thefirst and second filaments thereby exciting the gas and vaporizing themercury with electromagnetic radiation being emitted by the bulbassembly; deenergizing the bulb assembly; and cooling the intermediateportion of the bulb and allowing the mercury to condense on the cooledintermediate portion between the first and second ends; whereby thecondensed mercury is captured in the arc path between the first andsecond filaments thereby decreasing the startup time for the bulbassembly upon a subsequent energization of the bulb assembly.
 49. Themethod of claim 48 wherein: the step of cooling the intermediate portionincludes providing a condensing element which transports heat away fromthe intermediate portion of the bulb.
 50. The method of claim 49wherein: the condensing element is in contact with a conduit carrying arelatively cool fluid.
 51. The method of claim 50 wherein: thecondensing element is an elastomeric member which also providescushioning support between the bulb and the conduit.
 52. The method ofclaim 48 wherein: the condensing element is metallic.
 53. A point-of-usewater treatment system for treating water, the system comprising: a baseunit including electrical controls including a light intensity detector;a lamp assembly having an outer housing with a bulb assembly and a lightpipe disposed at least partially therein, the bulb assembly emitting UVand visible light when the lamp assembly is energized and the light pipecontaining a florescent dye which converts UV light to visible light;wherein the light intensity detector detects visible light emitted fromthe light pipe to determine the relative intensity of the UV lightproduced by the bulb assembly of the lamp assembly.
 54. The system ofclaim 53 wherein: the intensity of the visible light emitted from thelight pipe is generally directly proportional to the intensity of the UVlight emitted by the bulb assembly.
 55. The system of claim 54 wherein:the light pipe fluoresces and produces green light.
 56. The system ofclaim 54 wherein: the florescent dye is generally green.
 57. The systemof claim 55 wherein: the bulb assembly includes a bulb having first andsecond ends with first and second filaments therein and an intermediateportion extending between the first and second ends; and the light pipehas a first filament face generally opposing the first filament of thebulb assembly and a second bulb face generally opposing the intermediateportion of the bulb; whereby the visible light detected by visible lightdetector is primarily created by the fluorescing of the light pipe inresponse to UV light incident upon the bulb face.
 58. The system ofclaim wherein: the bulb assembly is generally U-shaped with the firstand second filaments generally opposing the filament face of the lightpipe.
 59. The system of claim 58 wherein: the second bulb face iscontoured to generally focus on the center portion of the bulb.
 60. Thesystem of claim 56 wherein: the light pipe has an emitting facejuxtaposed the visible light detector; and the light pipe is configuredto reflect and focus light incident upon the bulb face onto the emittingface.
 61. The system of claim 53 wherein: the lamp assembly furtherincludes a reflector assembly disposed within the housing to reflectlight from the bulb assembly onto water passing through the lampassembly.
 62. The system of claim 53 wherein: the light pipe is made ofplastic.
 63. The system of claim 53 wherein: the plastic is acrylic. 64.The system of claim 53 wherein: the second bulb face is contoured andpositioned to focus upon the reflector assembly.
 65. A method ofdetecting the intensity of UV light produced by a bulb assembly, themethod comprising: providing a bulb assembly having first and secondends and an intermediate portion extending therebetween, the first andsecond ends having filaments therein; providing a light pipe having aflorescent dye therein, the light pipe including a bulb face, a filamentface and an emitting face, the light pipe being configured to directlight incident upon the bulb face toward the emitting face; orientatingthe bulb face to primarily receive light from the intermediate portionof the bulb assembly; exciting the bulb assembly to produce UV light andvisible light; directing UV light from the intermediate portion of thebulb assembly to strike the bulb face thereby causing the light pipe tofluoresce and visible light to be emitted from the emitting face of thelight pipe while light from the at least one of the first and secondfilaments strikes the filament face; and detecting the relativeintensity of the visible light emitted from the emitting face of thelight pipe.
 66. The method of claim 65 wherein: at least one of the bulbface and the emitting are polished to enhance light transmissivity. 67.The method of claim 66 wherein: the florescent dye is green.
 68. Themethod of claim 67 wherein: the intensity of the UV light output by thelamp assembly is directly proportional to the intensity of the lightemitted by the emitting face.
 69. The method of claim 68 wherein: thebulb face is focused toward the center of the lamp assembly.
 70. Themethod of claim 68 wherein: the filament face is generally curved tomate about a cylindrical bulb.